The head of the interrogation center at the Abu Ghraib prison
in Iraq told an Army investigator in February that he understood
some of the information being collected from prisoners there
had been requested by "White House staff," according
to an account of his statement obtained by The Washington Post.

Lt. Col. Steven L. Jordan, an Army reservist who took control
of the Joint Interrogation and Debriefing Center on Sept. 17,
2003, said a superior military intelligence officer told him
the requested information concerned "any anti-coalition
issues, foreign fighters, and terrorist issues."

The Army investigator, Maj. Gen. Antonio M. Taguba, asked
Jordan whether it concerned "sensitive issues," and
Jordan said, "Very sensitive. Yes, sir," according
to the account, which was provided by a government official.

The reference by Jordan to a White House link with the military's
scandal-plagued intelligence-gathering effort at the prison was
not explored further by Taguba, whose primary goal at that time
was to assess the scope of prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib. The
White House was unable to provide an immediate explanation.

During the period in question, the last quarter of 2003, virtually
every senior military officer in Iraq, as well as at the Pentagon,
was intensely interested in determining who was behind the rising
insurgency in Iraq and using that information to squelch it.
But no reference has previously been made in the publicly available
Abu Ghraib investigative documents to a special interest by White
House staff.

The precise role and mission of Jordan, who is still stationed
in Iraq and through his attorneys has declined requests to speak
with the news media, remains one of the least well understood
facets of the Abu Ghraib abuse scandal.

Jordan has been described by other military personnel as playing
a key role at Abu Ghraib in overseeing interrogations; they have
described him as being deeply involved in an incident on Nov.
24, 2003, when a detainee was confronted in his cell by snarling
military dogs, which Taguba deemed a violation of the prisoner's
rights.

In a March 9 report on the abuse scandal, Taguba listed Jordan
as one of four military intelligence officers he suspected were
"directly or indirectly responsible for the abuses at Abu
Ghraib." He also said Jordan had "failed to ensure
that soldiers under his direct control were properly trained"
in interrogation techniques and were aware of Geneva Conventions
human rights protections for detainees.

Col. Thomas M. Pappas, the chief military intelligence officer
at the prison, said in his statement to Taguba that Jordan was
working on a special project for the office of Maj. Gen. Barbara
Fast, the top U.S. intelligence official in Iraq. He also described
Jordan as "a loner who freelances between military intelligence
and military police" officers at the prison.

Asserting that Jordan repeatedly took part in searches of
detainee cells without notifying military police commanders --
an activity that fell outside the customary duties of an intelligence
officer -- he also told Taguba that "I must admit I failed
in not reining him in."

But Jordan, in the statement to Taguba, described himself
as more of a functionary than a rogue operator. He said that
Pappas was really in charge, as evidenced by the fact that he
was not responsible for rating other military intelligence officers
in reports to superiors and "had no input . . . no responsibility
. . . no resources" under his control. He said he was just
a "liaison" between Fast and those collecting intelligence
at the prison.

"My direction when it came to the [center] . . . was
to set up a structure [of] target folders on individuals,"
he said, evidently referring to specific detainees. He said he
was aware of the "rules of engagement" approved by
commanders for interrogations, which have been a topic of controversy.
But the rules changed several times, and he did not clarify which
set he relied on.

Pappas, he said, was the officer who approved lengthy sleep
deprivation or keeping detainees in isolation for more than 30
days. He also said that an "OGA" team -- or Other Government
Agency, a euphemism for the CIA -- known as Task Force 121 had
caused problems by bringing detainees they had captured to Abu
Ghraib and essentially dumping them without conducting any follow-up.
"It's a very cowboy kind of affair," he said of Task
Force 121.

Some of Jordan's statements to Taguba were not consistent.
He said at one point, for example, that "I can never remember
seeing an actual interrogation going on at this site." But
then he admitted being present during questioning of a detainee
in the prison's shower stalls before the use of guard dogs on
Nov. 24. One of his civilian attorneys, John Shapiro, described
Jordan last night as "a fine soldier who was serving his
country and is cooperating in every way with the investigations"
into the abuse.